Navy destroyer sails near disputed Chinese islands

Corrections and clarifications: China claims the 12-mile barrier around what had been submerged reefs it has built into artificial islands, which the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea prohibits. 

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer sailed near disputed islands China has built up in the South China Sea early Tuesday in the region, a Defense official confirmed on Monday.

The USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of Subi reef where China has claimed territory, said the official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the movement of a ship. The Lassen moved through the area without incident.

Last week, in another show of force in the region, dozens of U.S. and Japanese warships, including aircraft carriers, conducted a highly publicized military exercise. Top U.S. Navy officials have signaled for weeks their intention to sail near the islands to uphold the rules of international navigation.

China has built up reefs in the Spratly Islands to assert claims of sovereignty that would give them control of resources and fishing rights in the South China Sea. U.S. officials maintain they are international waters and open to navigation. Moreover, even if the islands were Chinese territory, the U.S. Navy could pass within 12 miles under the rule of "innocent passage," which allows ships to sail if they are not conducting military maneuvers.

The United States does not take a position on the competing claims among countries asserting ownership of the islands, the official said.

A senior member of the House Armed Services Committee praised the Navy's deployment of the Lassen.

"The passage of U.S. vessels within 12 nautical miles of China's man-made features in the South China Sea is a necessary and overdue response to China's destabilizing behavior in the region," Randy Forbes, chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee, said in a statement. "International law is clear that China has no legitimate claim to sovereignty over these waters, and it is high time that this administration reaffirmed America's enduring commitment to freedom of navigation and the maintenance of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region."

“The actions of the U.S. warship have threatened China’s sovereignty and security interests, jeopardized the safety of personnel and facilities on the reefs, and damaged regional peace and stability,” China’s Foreign Ministry said on its website.

“The Chinese side expresses its strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition,” the statement added.

After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, President Obama said he had "candid conversations" with his counterpart on the issue. "I reiterated the right of all countries to freedom of navigation and overflight and to unimpeded commerce," Obama said. "As such, I indicated that the United States will continue to sail, fly and operate anywhere that international law allows."

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Since then, the White House has continued to send signals that it would ensure that the South China Sea remained recognized as international waters — even as it characterized such naval operations as routine.

"It's not uncommon for the Department of Defense to conduct freedom of navigation operations to challenge excessive maritime claims on a regular basis around the world," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said this month. "A specific challenge to freedom of navigation is something that can be as simple as a single ship or an aircraft traversing the area subject to the excessive claim without notifying the nation or asking permission for the transit, primarily because that transit would occur in international waters. "

According to a Pentagon report, the military took similar action to challenge the maritime claims of 18 nations in 2014 — from rivals such as Iran and China to allies such as the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan.